Naturally Optimistic

I'm so excited!!! My friend Sarah is on her way to Duluth from Minneapolis so we can check it out together. We've been planning this for months! I see a martini in my future. Whohoo!

I am sooooo over everything right now. OVER. IT.

Is it wrong to want to work in a positive, creative environment? In a place where creativity is fostered, ideas are brainstormed, people receive constructive criticism instead of glares of disgust? Is it wrong to want to be grateful for the opportunities presented each day or for being allowed to learn new skills, develop new talents & explore imaginations? Is it so wrong to want to be respected, not treated like a doormat, but an equal? I'm fed up.

So this weekend has come and gone - too fast, yet again and it was "long." Ah well, so it goes. Friday night Erin came over for dinner. I made basil ravioli & asparagus. It was yummy. We were going to watch MOULIN ROUGE but it got too late and I was too tired. Saturday Steve hemmed & hawed and finally decided to go camping with a couple of friends. After he left Dahlia & I took our first bike ride together to the bike shop. The trailer we bought didn't have the reflectors installed as it should have. It was great - it works fabulously and although I'm a huge wimp, it wasn't too bad. After that we ran errands - I bought marigolds, petunias, tomatoes & another flower I forget what it's called. But it got rainy so I didn't get to plant them. Saturday night I didn't do much...putzed around, read my book, worked on my sewing project and went to bed. Yesterday Dahlia & I hung out. I planted the marigolds right before the rain and we spen...

after going back in after 3 minutes...she cried for another 3 and now there is quiet.... could this be working?!?!? Time for Mama to crack open a beer.

So, we've started doing the cry-it-out method. Yikes. We had no problem putting her to bed...except that we rocked her to sleep every night and eventually that is going to be a problem... Whoops - 3 minutes is up...I'll be right back.... Okay - this SUCKS. I feel terrible letting her cry-SCREAM when I leave the room. Ugh. We are motivated to do this now because a colleague of mine disclosed that his 2-year-old has uncontrollable tantrums because she never learned to "self-soothe" because she was rocked to sleep every night. UGH. Dahlia is SO TIRED right now and yet she just screams if she doesn't fall asleep in our arms. *sigh* I feel so bad when I go in there and she has little tears running down her face and she looks at me with those eyes that say "you're going to pick me up, right?" *sigh* It's hard. H.A.R.D. But I know ultimately she will be okay. Last night she did a 3 minute (go back into the room after 3 minutes), 5 minute and 1 10 minute...

We've set our premieres for GOD ROCKS! Thursday, June 26th Duluth - Red Carpet/VIP Premiere! (hopefully we'll get some press!) Public Premiere Duluth Friday & Saturday, June 27 & 28th Teatro Zuccone 222 E. Superior St 7 & 9pm each night Twin Cities Thursday, July 10th Heights Theater 351 N. Central Ave Columbia Heights, MN 7pm Spread the word! Hope to see you at one of the screenings!

Over here .

Please go wish Michelle & Chris a HAPPY ENGAGEMENT! I'm so happy for them. I've known Chris FOR.EVER. and I've known Michelle for a couple years now. I am happy to say that I did some strategic wedding reception seating chart planning and got them at the same table. Actually Michelle was seated with 2 eligible bachelors at our reception and I told her she could have her pick! She picked well! I've known about their engagement now for almost 2 weeks!! But have been waiting for her to spill the beans first....yay! She asked me to be her matron-of-honor and while I hate the word MATRON I am thrilled to be a part of their special day! CONGRATS!

Another weekend come & gone...do I start all my weekend updates that way? Quite possibly. I have some photos, but forgot the camera at home, so those will come later. Friday night...Hmmmm, what did I do Friday night. I can't remember. Probably nothing too exciting. Oh, I think we started watching STARDUST but didn't get very far into it because SOMEONE wouldn't go to sleep. That's all I remember from Friday. Saturday I ran some errands and got my haircut. Whohoo. I LOVE scalp massages. Seriously it is not even funny. LOVE IT. I could have that done for hours. The rest of the day was spent putzing around the house, trying to not have my husband FREAK OUT over all the STUFF we have and how unORGANIZED we are. He gets sort of cranky about it. It's true...but we just have to keep working little by little to get things where they need to be. It doesn't help to have a heart attack over it. I also did some sewing and read my book. Exciting, eh? Yesterday more putzi...

The little peanut turned 5 Months Old yesterday! Hard to believe! She got to spend time with her cousins and Auntie Kathy too.

My first Mother's Day. CRAZY. One year ago on Mother's Day we told our families that Dahlia was going to be. I can't believe it was a year ago. The day started off with Dahlia sleeping until 6:22 - which she hasn't done in a while. She's been on a streak where she's been waking at 2:30 or so - just for kicks. She usually goes back to sleep easily but it's still annoying to get up. So sleeping until 6:22 was great. After her bottle I brought her back into bed for snuggling. By 8 or so she was ready to get up and Steve got up with her and I slept - in the bed - alone - for about 40 minutes. IT WAS GREAT! We had a nice brunch cooked by Steve and had generally lazy morning. Later in the afternoon we took Dahlia for a stroll and then to my MIL's for dinner. It was all in all a very nice day. Steve gave me a SWEET bottle of tequila (ah, he knows me so well....okay, there IS a story behind that...) and two roses - one from him, one from Dahlia. On the card Dahl...

Living North Magazine Check the inside cover for "Little Bo-Tique" Is she FIERCE or what?

It was one year ago today that I found out that Dahlia would come to be. A WHOLE YEAR AGO. That is freaky. Time moves in a freakishly fast way. *sigh* She had her 4 month appointment yesterday - even though she is 4 months 3 weeks, but ah well. We have to stay on this schedule for the vaccinations. Weighing in at: 11lbs 10oz! That's the 4th percentile. Although her cheeks & thighs are getting splendidly plump. :) Height: 24 1/8 inches! She's grown nearly 5 inches - that is hard to believe. Head circumference: 16 5/8 inches!!!! 70th percentile! I'm chalking it up to a very large brain. So yeah, my kid has a big head. No wonder I have trouble getting onesies over her head which otherwise fit her just fine. She had her shots which sucked...for both of us. Ugh. I hate that. Not only does it suck to see her get stuck, to see her scream but I also worry about the side effects. She woke up at 4:40 this morning with a fever of 100.5 which isn't too bad but she's never h...

Nothing like starting the week with a fresh warm batch of spit up right down the front of you shirt...on the inside...

I hate the fact that I am so easily manipulated by other peoples' words. The fact that I can be brought down in the pit of despair over something that I didn't do yet am accused of; of being overlooked as not contributing (enough?); as having situations in my life that make me "unproductive." I don't know whether to cry or scream.

On a cold, windy, wet, gray day it's best to just hole up in the house for the afternoon with your cute baby & a friend and watch a super depressing, yet very good film about a French singer named Edith Piaf. Anyway - that's what I did today. La Vie En Rose is the story of Ms Piaf and her tragic life from living as a child on the streets, in a brothel and with the circus, to her street-started singing career to world fame. Marian Cotillard is truly amazing in this role - she becomes Edith and is totally watchable. Piaf is not always likable and is often obnoxious, arrogant, tempestuous and annoying but there's something about her that you can't stop watching. It's a tragic story - more downs than ups - but is a good watch nonetheless. The music hangs in the air all around you and made me wish I was sitting in a Parisian cafe, sipping a glass of wine and staring at the Eiffel Tower. This film has it's share of gaps & is told in a manner which jumps &...

I have an amazing lack of things to say. I was going to blog about a parking violation LAST NOTICE FOR PAYMENT but I got that taken care of today in a relatively easy manner. I was going to blog about my horrible doctor's appointment today, but I don't want to (it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but the waiting is the part that sucks the most). I was going to blog about something that just completely slipped my mind. Basically? I got nothing. Happy Friday.